Falling to the Earth
by Makilome
Summary: The Emerson's have their own secrets in the enigmatic, graceful form of Sarin Emerson. There is something wrong, rightly wrong about her that puzzles Dwayne and drives him to places he never dreamed. Leading them to a world with a place for monsters, for dark women and men, a ship called Serenity and the Black. And Dwayne falls for her, who really is River Tam that led them there.
1. Chapter 1

**Falling to the Earth**

**The Lost Boys are not the only ones with deadly secrets. The Emerson's secrets take the form of the enigmatic Sarin Emerson. She is a woman of alien grace, eery beauty. She is a woman of Power, a woman who is also a weapon and formed into a monster. And she is not Michael's sister, Dwayne feels it! There is something wrong, something rightly wrong about her and the puzzle drives him into places he never even dreamed, teaching him monsters can take even the most un assuming and angelic of forms. And the girl who should not be there and her memories begin to take hold and he isn't going to let go. Because through her he was going to find the place where monsters like them had a place. Where they could own the sky and never touch the ground again, where they can find common ground with a human crew of dark pasts. Sarin Emerson aka River Tam leads the Boys back to home to the Black, to Serenity, and Dwayne falls for the perfect assassin he slowly comes to understand, better than his own self and anyone else.**

**Chapter One: **Hell in her Eyes

With fist held cards

I've killed a million petty souls

But I can't kill you

I've slept so long without you

I see Hell in your eyes

Taken in by Suprise

and touching you makes me feel alive

-Slept so Long excerpt by Jay Gordan

All eyes were on the boy that Max had ordered they turn, Michael, all eyes but one pair. One pair caught and got locked on to the enigmatic female that radiated alien calm and sent off sirens of invisable danger that sat on the back of his bike. Dark eyes on dark eyes, two monsters trying to pry into one another. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. She wasn't like the rest of them. The shroud of innocence that surrounded her was a mask, and behind that vacant stare, the tilted head and crooked smile, there was something in her veins, cold as stone, fatal as his own embrace. Michael's attention suddenly snapped to Dwayne and to his sister, Sarin, and he tried to cover the alarm in his eyes, but Dwayne saw it. He saw it plain as day. And he heard the whisper in her ear. "You need to go Sarin! I told you this wasn't safe!" she gave him a long blank look, seeing through and past him. "He is worried about things that don't matter. Never safe, never sound. Everything burns and everyone dies. Down like posies. Girl who plays with monsters won't become fallen at their feet. They are the same." Dwayne kept his face a mask but her words revolved around and he knew. She knew what they were.

She had known the second they had arrived up on their bikes, looking around and through each of them in turn, assessing them as though preparing for a duel. Taking in each one's essense and she could probably tell you what made up each of them. _"Girl who plays with monsters won't become fallen at their feet. They are the same."_ Oh yes, she knew, he was sure of it! And she held absolutely no fear of them. She called herself the same. Like she was something more than Michael, than the Emerson family. There were a thousand horrors and secrets in her eyes, as plain and riddling as the tiny, almost unpercievable scars left across her hairline. And the longer he looked the more he found. She was strong, perceptive, and her gaze was something more than human, more than innocent. Yes, she could be a monster, she could drop the mask with all the grace of a ballet dancer and turn that small little body into a deadly force, there was Hell in her eyes.

A woman wrapped up in secrets. And if the girl named Sarin was Michael's sister then he belonged amongst the choir of angels! They were not born of the same fiber, not knit of the same fabric. Michael was clay, and Sarin was steel, unbreakable and unmovable. A woman for the night. Another urgent whisper, while her eyes never left his. "Sarin! You've got to go!" finally she turned, very slowly, a smile slid in a moment across her face, a mothering look filled with pity, knowing that the man playing her brother was in for the ride of his life now, litterally! "Go play with monsters on iron horses. Make eyes with the whirling sprite. Leave untouched what isn't marked for you." he could have coughed! She knew about the bottle! David shook his head at him, but Dwayne knew better. Something connected when they locked eyes. A conversation without words, an understanding that could never be put into them. The silent warning _"don't do this thing, you know it won't end well."_ read loud and clear. She slid off the bike, patting the back of it for Star to get on.

Something made him tell David to let it happen! Her eyes were skyward now, a wistful longing look he recongnized very well, it was one he wore himself often enough. Like the sky was something she had lost, like it was home! They kicked on the bikes but his eyes stayed on her form. David's thoughts traveled to him. _"If you want her, follow her. Find out what she is made out of, unriddle what it is that has you. We are going."_ he nodded, shooting him a smile and using his vampire abilities, which he actually desperatly needed, to find her whirling, skating, dancing in and out of the laughing crowds and the crying runaways. He had never seen another being move like her. It wasn't of this world! It had him memorised, watching every movement, every graceful extension of her hand. A child's wonder and a monster's sadness for a world lost that can not be had again. They had made their way to the ferris wheel, and she watched wide eyed, smiling at the spinning lights and laughing along with the kids that rode. He parked and it was like he was being summoned to her side. It was a pull to strong for him to ignore. As soon as he took what almost felt to be his place beside her she spoke.

"Suffering Native, wandering lost and alone in a sea of brothers. What would you wish of the girl?" something about her sent a smile across his face, he reached a hand out, streching his arm around her tiny waist, striking a claim in the face of all the men that stared after her like they were in heat, aura heightened just a little, in warning. "Just a ride with a interesting girl." he answered. A light laugh caught him off guard. "She's a puzzle he can't solve in a night. Native wants to see if he can put the pieces together. To late. To late. Pieces missing, forever floating in the Black. Stolen by the hands of blue. Will never be right." a pained expression on her face, a strong self hatred. A sense of unfairness. Someone had done this to her, whatever it was. He couldn't piece everything together from what she said, but it was enough to know that someone had taken her, had ripped her up, tore her down, broke her into pieces and reassembled them to their liking. And it awoke something dark in him, and the growl was out even before he could stop himself. She turned to face him, that blank, open, wondering look on her face again that he couldn't seem to look away from.

"She'll go ride with the growling bear. Pretend for a little while. Pretend that she is real, pretend that she is still a girl. Forget the demon inside." he couldn't give any answers to the reactions she pulled out of him, how he responded more to her than he had to anyone in more years then he cared to count. How he bothered to soften his gaze for her, push back the beast for her, try to remember that somewhere he was still a man. A reassuring hand squeezed her shoulder. "I'd like to forget the demon inside for a while, too." he said honestly. There was no use in lying to her. She could clearly see and knew what he was. And she did not fear him because she welcomed him, and she welcomed him because she welcomed death, and that didn't sit well with him, not one little bit! He let her go to grab her laced, fingerless, gloved hand, feeling the swirl of her skirts brush him when they blew in the wind, long lab styled coat that was light blue trailing behind with her long hair.

Human she felt, blood in her veins. But whatever she hinted at, he knew, no human could have survived like she had. Just as she was not fooled by him, he was not fooled by her. Two monsters with intwined hands, pretending for an hour they were human, that they were alive, that he was a man and she was a woman. And he liked it, he didn't know if she would ever realize how much this night meant to him, what she had given to him. The guard smiled upon seeing her approach, it seemed he had a fatherly fondness for her and the air of protection surrounded him immediatly when he saw who she was with. "Sarin, watch yourself darling. Not everyone is as good and kind as you in this town. Alot of boys about that seem caring that will drag you off. I would hate to see it happen to you." Dwayne narrowed his eyes at him. But she responded before he could retort. "Officer knows nothing. He won't harm me. Because we are the same, we both belong to the Black." her last sentence caught him off guard. He rolled it over in his mind while she convinced the guard to let them on. He decided it was rather true, and he liked it. Something seemed right about it.

She turned back to him, her eyes lit with excitement, forgetting her constant pain for a moment and her excitement infected and infiltrated him. They waded in, taking their seat and pulling the belt down around them with a strength that shouldn't have surprised him. Nor should the fact that instantly his arm snaked around her back and his hand rested on her hip. He turned her face to his, dark meeting dark again. "Now lets pretend a while." he said, and she matched his smile with one small one of her own. "That is acceptable." she said softly and mirriored his actions, a gloved hand snaking beneath his jacket across his bare back and pulling in towards the warmth she allowed herself to lean against him, an action he knew she did not allow and it struck him with suddeness, the gifts she bestowed upon him that evening. He leaned right back and it felt good, it made him feel things he could never put into proper words. His other hand came up, touching the silk of her long cascading waves and fingering through as he pulled it over her shoulder and showed the full glory of her face, a look of contentment, of feeling safe and not alone that was all to rare.

She watched the night and him as they got a map from their ever turning height. They talked about something which they both shared a great knowledge and love of, the stars. Riding several times in turn, they repeated the old stories. They walked the grounds afterward, side by side, his arm wrapped around hers. And the mind she gave a glimpse into that night shocked and delighted him. It had been a very long time since he had been able to talk at length with an intellectual equal who wasn't Max, Max whom he never really liked and didn't want to think about right then. So he drowned himself in the sound of her voice and the feel of her skin, leaning into him and talking of star bursts, getting a large hint that sent him reeling when she made a single slip, a mention to The-Earth-That-Was. But the moment was to special for them both to ruin it. They would puzzle into one another later, which sent a thrill of excitment through him. He liked her, both the man in him, and the monster were content by her. Wrapped in so many secrets, important ones, perhaps ones that would be important to all of them. The time was coming for David to call him.

He wanted him there with the others for this business with Michael. Business he didn't like and he knew, deep down, could lead the rest of them to no good. The plan was simplistic and never going to work! Perhaps there was a way he could team up with Star secretly, stop Michael from becoming something he wasn't made to be. He would never survive it. He was nothing like them. He was nothing like the strange beauty with incredible strength, like Sarin. He wanted the night to go on and on, for them to be able to pretend for a little while longer. But she turned to him. "Pretending was good, but reality beckons. Must go to where we are called. Not the last time the girl and the boy shall meet. She will look for you." it made him smile at her again and he pulled her just slightly closer. "Pretend a little longer with me Sarin. I won't take no for an answer on giving you a ride home. The night here isn't what it seems." he answered as he steered her towards the bike. "The girl knows. She feels them. Glowing eyes and ravenous hunger. Not alive, not human, not Reavers, not in control." a more accurate account of the other vampires that wandered Santa Carla he never heard!

"That's right. And I won't leave you alone with them." she looked at him like he had suddenly grown two heads and laughed, but grabbed his arm again. "Let the Native take the girl to her house. The Little One and the fury beast wait for her." she meant the little brother, the one that he knew, better than his brothers, to be leary of. But if he was protecting of Sarin, he thought perhaps he could be brought over, but he didn't like any of this and the longer he spent with Sarin, the more determined he became to stop this before it occured. She feared for him, and that was a sobering feeling amongst monsters! She got behind him and squeeked when he grabed her hands, wrapping them around him underneath his jacket, tight, rubbing them in a manner that marked her with his scent, something that wouldn't just wash off so that if any came upon her, they would sense the claim and walk away. Whether she could defend herself or not seemed irrelevant, he wouldn't suffer her to be hurt. She had been hurt far enough!

She rested her small head on his shoulder, watching the scenery while he kick started the bike. They rode in a comfortable silence, enjoying that awareness of one another's presense. A long slender arm let go of him and streched out to point to the Emerson household, where several lights were on. Like someone panicking because of the dark. He pulled in and got off the bike with her. She started to walk but he grabbed her hand, pulled her back and into him. He wrapped his arms around her and she looked at him with an interested expression. He felt small arms enclose around his own form in term, almost timidly. His eyes fell closed and he kissed her forehead. "It was fun, pretending with you for a while, being the man. I won't forget it, I mean that!" she gave him a different smile, one that made him freeze and the blood in his veins turn to ice. It burned when she kissed his cheek in the most delightful manner. "She liked pretending being a girl, being real for a while. Native will always make her think of the night and the Black, and when she sees the Black she'll always think of him." and his instincts screamed at him for letting go of her.

He watched as she trailed to the door yelling at her while she opened it. "This isn't the last time we'll see each other, Sarin. I'll see you soon, I promise!" she let out a giggle and a wave and went in. He knew he was in trouble when the cheek she kissed continued to burn. When on the ride back all he thought about was her smiling face and her dream-like voice talking about star-bursts and super novas. When the secrets behind her dark eyes pulled him in instead of pushing back, and he plunged in willingly, even though he knew danger lied on that path, danger the likes that he has yet to know. He came into the Cave with a curious look being shot at him by Marko and a smirk that he wanted to smack off David's face! "How fares the fair Sarin, is she home safe?" he asked and Michael's eyes snapped to him, urgent protectiveness and unrepressed rage shot in one look, showing more back bone in him that he had in all the rest of his actions that night, he was informed later. He gave him a serene smile. "Sarin is where she should be in one piece, and she had a night of peace and contentment. Something she has precious little of. You should meet her, she is a enigmatic puzzle, both mad and dazzling brilliant." he watched Michael's eye pop.

He was deeply alarmed, he could see that. And he was going to use it, to feed his mistrust while he worked to gain Sarin's. He sounded the secret horn of victory when the bottle was left untouched as he raced home to check on his "sister". And it was Star, of all people, who saw what he was doing. He went up and out to the bluff while the others headed for sleep and she followed behind. "Thank you! I know what you did. I know you mean to help me stop this. Even if it's for her, thank you." he choaked, with the sugary nonsense of whatever happy ending Star saw for herself in all of this, like there was such a thing! "You know nothing of me, or of Sarin if you believe her innocent. She is no different than us, that is what draws us in. Sarin has been pulled apart and put back together, she was forged into a monster. A monster who could, if she wished, probably end us all." he mused on it, thinking on that incredible aura of deadly power that surrounded her. "I'm doing this to save David from himself. Before he does something he can't take back, and in the process gets us all killed! This plan of Max's, it is doomed to fail. David still fails to see the real enemy is the man who's blood runs through all our veins."

Star nodded silently, agreeing in full. She had been taken in selfishly, hand picked by Max as a mother for Laddie, liquid forced down her throat when she would not drink willingly. She belonged with someone like Michael. With the Emersons, she would fit like a glove. And Sarin, she belonged with them, to the night, the stars. The Lost Boys and Sarin Emerson, all of them belonged to the Black. Again her face and voice entered his mind, while he looked up and stared out and into the night. "She's got a hold on you." Star said teasingly, poking him in the shoulder. A smile came across his face. "She does. She is a puzzle I intend on solving. But I'll tell you a secret. I also have a hold on her." Star gave him a smile. "I truly am happy for you. We need to help each other now. Be friends." he nodded slowly. "Go sleep Star. We will work on the others, may even get Sarin and Michael's help to end Max." she nodded and left and he stayed out till he almost couldn't move before he slugged off and slumbered on the couch.

He puzzled as he fell into his slumber about what it meant, that slip-up. The-Earth-That-Was, that detail was crucial in finding out who Sarin really was. And maybe where they all truly belonged. 


	2. The Star to Guide Us Home

**Chapter Two:** The Star to Lead Us Home

Dwayne gets his wish a lot sooner than he hoped for, spotting Sarin giving the two comic book boys heart attacks by her lack of fear and her vague but all to accurate predictions. He pulls Paul behind him to intimidate the two to back off, as he doesn't know how but he knows her patience is worn thin and if they don't act, it won't be them ending their lives. This time around she comes without Michael to the Cave, drinking from the bottle knowingly and taking her place in the coven she has been destined to be a part of.

The light that breaks the night

making visable the black waters

making all paths all the more sure

lighting the pathway back to living earth

she is the siren for which all sailers cry.

-Beacon excerpt by Makilome

Dwayne's POV

His mind had been on little else other than the little 'sister' of the Emerson family. The one who could on a dime become the embodiment of Death, graceful and untouchable by the human race. Lucky for him he no longer walked in that number! There was a part of him that desperately wanted to see what she could do, of what she was capeable of. When she revealed that part of herself, and with the bastards that made up Santa Carla it was only a matter of time, he wanted to be there, to see it! Something told him that she was not a woman who needed protected. And he couldn't forget what she felt like, what she smelt like, the lingering taste of her skin on his lips, the burning sensation that even now lingered where she kissed him on the cheek, every so often he would touch it again, when he thought no one was looking. He would catch Star smiling at him every so often, and he had to give her small signs, nothing that David or the others be able to read. The girl, that graceful creature truly had got deep under his skin, and what was strange was that he didn't mind, not even a little bit. No walls, no lies, no bullshit between them. They knew one another for who they are, both the light and the darkness. But her darkness was hidden. Her's had a Source. Her's had done something, invaded her, changed her, did things that no one had the right to do to any living being and the thought still sent rage through out the entirety of his frame. He had to find out what the images in his dreams since the night he met her meant!

Who the Hell was behind that awful, soft calm voice asking questions while she was strapped down, bleeding and screaming, because once he found him, his death would not be quick! And some of the images… along with being blood curdling seemed impossible! Like the eery seeing as though through her eyes, views of planets he had never seen from a distance, a vessel voyaging among the stars like a ship upon the sea. It was fantastical, but the recollection had been to vivid, filled with to much pain and longing and uncanny detail to not have happened. He knew that David would call him crazy, but so says a 200 year old vampire, crazy was on the menu! He knew what he saw, these were memories, Sarin's memories, from where and maybe even when she came and he strangely felt that same longing, that same desire for the stars that she showed him just 2 days before. He found that spending a night without the sound of her sage like voice that spoke all to clearly if one had the paitence to listen, without the sight of her graceful form moving in and out, more dancing than simply moving around the crowd had sucked out of it all it's light. She haunted him, and he wanted to be near, he wanted to feel the touch of her hand again, to hold her small form in his arms again, to walk arm and arm speaking on things none of the others would understand again. He had whispered it into the night before they had left the Cave to the Boardwalk, looking for their next meal.

They had taken to making a pass by the comic store shop ever since they found out the two very disturbed young boys knew somehow who and what they were and began warning every tourist or new person that entered their shop with their very tacky vampire comic books about them. They were drawing un nescery attention to them, but they could easily be intimidated, all it took was them even catching the slightest sight of them. And as though his wish had been granted, there she was, on the inside with the youngest Emerson boy, engaging in one of the most amusing debates he had ever heard! Her logic was beyond sound, her through knowledge in weaponary sent chills down HIS spine, and then he remembered that voice and it was all to clear why that knowledge was so needed. "By logic, should these creatures exist, the boys would not have a chance. With enhanced speed, strength, agility, the gift of flight and the disbelief of the rest of the population working in their favor, facing them head on would end in demise. It would be foolish to engage such a creature and better rather to avoid them all together, and always seek the safety of crowds when they are near. By such means their chances of survival increase. Exposure is a open threat, by such means the boys will meet their end. Better to warn others of ruffians in more vague terms, serving both the purpose and preserving their existance." and he couldn't help it, he began giggling, catching the attention of his companion for the night.

"Sarin is inside. She knows Paul, but she is no threat to us. She is more like us than any other of that family. She is a woman surrounded in secrets. But don't take my word, you got to hear her take those idiots down a few pegs!" Paul raised his eyebrow at him, a smirk spreading across his face made up for by the kind look shot at him. "You really like her, don't you dude? She is rather hot…" he ignored his brother's hormone laden end of the comment. "Once you spend some time with her, you'll see why. And you'll want to unriddle her just as much as I do. Come on, let's get closer, I want to see this!" there was a bit of a michevious spark in him just then. So unseen the two of them moved in closer, well within ear shot for their enhanced hearing. The brothers were already sputtering angry answers at her very logical statement. "You do not know because you don't believe! You don't understand the dangers out there, but they are real, and they especially like young girls like you! Yes, we know that you were seen out with one of them. I warning you, you keep it up, both you and your brother are going to end up in a body bag, one way or the other!" the oldest one tried to look threatening, sending Sarin into full blown laughter. What he didn't expect was the graceful way she jumped over the counter with absolute ease. Moving as though in a dance, eyes widened and all emotion erased she moved, sweeping the brother who spoke to the ground with a sweep, her foot resting gently on his throat, just a mere warning.

"He knows nothing. The girl is more than she appears. Perhaps it is that those who are her kind will not seek to rob her of life. She does not fear those with whom she has means to measure her abilities. Nothing in the 'verse can stop me." both of them dropped their jaws in shock, mirrioring Sam and the other Frogg. "Whoah! That was both kind of scary and hot at the same time!" then Paul gave him a teasing grin and a pat on his back. "Well boyo, it's offical, Sarin Emerson is a badass!" Dwayne chuckled. She most certainly was! He could hear clearly in Paul's mind, he was already setting up sparing matches with her, already thinking about asking David to bring her in with Michael. As for him, he was still working with Star on how to stop Michael from turning with out incurring the wrath of Max and David. He had already begun working on his leader's insecurities about their leader, using logic as Sarin had just done to show him that this plan of his was destined to fail at best and end up with all of them dead at worst! The boy did not have it in him to take on their way of life. He would try to kill them. And if anyone dared to try to take him away from Sarin it would be a blood bath! She was the only thing that gave him strength, made him reach deeper to protect her. And Dwayne was now beginning to understand it. He would also gleefully commit murder to avenge what those sick bastards did to her, and to make sure they could never touch her again! She deserved better! It was very clear that Michael loved her, and really, it was so easy to. She was a weapon, but she was loyal to the very core, would and he had a feeling already had killed to protect those she loved.

So graceful, just so damn graceful and lovely, it was more impossible not to love her, even at first sight. "What did you do that for?!" the other brother exclaimed. "To prove the girl's hypothesis and make the point that she is not without her own means of protection. However the boys are young, inexperienced, do not understand the creatures they hunt. Life is fragile, needs to be guarded, protected. Logical to start preserving it instead of provoking Death. Could have killed him and he would not be able to stop her. Remember this whenever seeking to take on those beyond your skill." she said while letting up her foot and giving her hand to the older brother and helping him up. "You have skill and a lot of knowledge. You could help us!" this caused Dwayne to facepalm himself while Paul made a comment about needing some popcorn. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Shall we make an appearance and steal the fair damsel for the night? We could use a little more beauty and a little less Mikey for once." Dwayne's eyes lit up, liking that idea very much! And it gave him an idea, a way to keep Michael away from them for the night. "_Star, do you think you could hang with Michael at his house tonight? I'm taking Sarin with us, I want the others to meet her."_ he sent out silently, shutting out his brothers with ease without giving any hint of it. _"Gladly! Thank you, for your help. But we can't just keep putting this off forever."_ he knew that, but he was building first a wall between his leader and the man that would end up with all of them dead!

He shot Paul a small smile before pushing on the door and walking in. Sarin shot him a rather grateful smile, she must of had really been hurting her poor brain cells with her debate with dumb and dumber! He returned it easily and immediately indulged himself in what he had missed, walking up while eyeing the boys behind the counter while wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to his side, her warmth already making him feel better and more merciful. He placed a kiss on her cheek, letting her turn her smile back to her empty look from before. "Because the girl does not turn on the weapon within against those she befriends, no matter who they be. Will never do that which I do not want them to. But the boys should think on the girl's words. Better to be smart than to be dead." she clearly meant for this to be the end of the conversation. "And that right there boys is why she is the smartest person in the room. If I were you and I valued my life, I would take what the chick says to heart. You run already on thin ice." Paul commented, coming up on Sarin's other side and putting his own arm around her, though keeping a distance to placate him. She shot a grin up at the blonde which caused him to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively at her, making her giggle and shake her head. "We're here to brighten your night chicka. We'll walk with you to take the little one here home and then get something to eat before we head to the cave, you up for it?" he asked her.

"Who'd you calling little!" Sam demanded, and Dwayne bit down a laugh. Sarin just reached down and rubbed his shoulder a little before he calmed down and beamed up at her. "Let's blow this place, Little One." he said in her ear. She nodded her very enthusiastic approval. As they walked to the door she answered. "The girl is agreeable to a night away from the broody brother." this cracked both of them up. "You aren't kidding, man is such a killjoy, how do you live with him?!" Paul asked as they exited. "One day at a time, hour upon hour spent in the world of Arda and halflings." she answered and Dwayne smirked at Paul's mystified expression. "You'd have to read once in a while to get what she's saying bro." he teased while they worked their way towards the decent sized two story house. Sam laughed, trying to change it into a cough with the glare the blonde gave him. He muttered about him having a bug up in his butt which Paul rather gracefully chose not to comment on. Probably because he really didn't want to get caught in an argument with a 10 year old boy, as none of them would ever let him hear the end of it, especially not if Sarin's snort was anything to go by. He was intelligent for his age, knowing it was better not to say anything about what happened in the comic store. But he was a boy schooled in keeping secrets, it appeared all the Emersons were, and have had to be. Whoever did those things to Sarin had gone to great expense and out of their way to do it. No doubt in his mind that even now as they spoke they were using everything at their disposal to find her, and that alone made him almost hope they showed up, so he could give them exactly what they deserved, the first people who were even more monsterous than any of the Lost Boys ever hoped to be!

Riddles upon riddles, with a woman who seemed out of her mind, but he didn't think so. Something else was wrong, caused her to speak in third person. Like she saw to much at once and it was to hard for her mortal brain to process and make others be able to understand her words at the same time. But he always did, he knew. She was skilled, but so were they. And if he were to protect her from those who hunted her, he needed to know who they were, who she truly was. Obviously, she heard him loud and clear. "_Nothing to be done. They will come, will find the girl, finish what they started. Two by two, hands of blue…"_ he felt the tremor of terror go down her spine, could see those gloved hands, driving needles over 6 inches long deep into her brain, hear her screams, her begging, the repeated questions as she did and that damned soft voice! "_Like hell they will! You said it yourself in there. We are not human, you know that. We CAN protect you, but you have to open your mouth. You have to tell us, everything!"_ he gave no sign that he was shocked by what she just did. He knew when he laid eyes to her that she held Power. All he cared about was that this quite lethal girl who could have easily made this Edgar Frogg's last day on Earth was terrorfied of what was coming, who feared nothing and no one else, and hated no one more. He began to rub comforting circles using his thumbs on the girl's waist. He was beginning to be rather sure this was going to make him crazy!

The look she shot him lasted less than a second, but it made his dead heart shatter! It was devoid of all hope, scared, and she looked so fragile. There was also iron set in it, she didn't plan to go off into the last good night quietly! When Paul looked up at them curiously and Sam followed suit, he shook his head no. This was not the right time. Her fear it seemed was not of them, but for them! The same thing that kept her warning him to not let David complete Max's task was also trying to push him away. He wasn't going anywhere! No one was going to invade his home turf and start trouble from which there would be no turning back, not one single one of them would allow that to happen. Sure they had technology, but he knew if she could get past the pain, the anger, and the fear she could use that incredible mind and her knowledge to tell them how to beat it. She leaned into him a little harder, sighing in defeat. _"I know what you fear, but you have the power to beat them. They fear you, fear what you know and what you can do. That is why they hunt you. I don't ask for you to have hope. I'll have the hope for you." _she raised an eyebrow, doing her best to hide a chuckle that threatened to come up. And like that, the light had come back, flooding his entire system with relief. Sam seemed to know something was up. He chose that moment to press a comment. "Anything for us in the peanut gallery you want to share?" and this time she really did let out a laugh, to be joined by himself and Paul. The blonde shot the boy a surprisingly soft look. Believe it or not, Paul never once killed a kid, he had a soft spot for young ones, especially those with sass like the young Emerson boy seemed to be brimming with!

"Don't sweat it little dude. I think all is cool." he answered, causing said boy to roll his eyes but his body relaxed a little. Sarin shot a rather fond look at the back of his head before not being able to resist reaching out and mussing his hair. "Aw man, quit that Sarin! Between you and Mike, geesh! Could you leave the 'do' alone for five seconds!" his protests sent peals of laughter through the group, as finally the sight of the Emerson house came into view. She gave him the shush sign, so they could at least get him behind closed doors before they picked up the conversation again. Sam was obviously tired, for he picked up the pace as soon as he spotted the place. "There is a God!" he muttered, this time Sarin was rolling her eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder, to keep him from running ahead and being spotted by the many troubles that plagued a Santa Carla night. Not all covens had their scruples about not feeding on young children, as much as that thought sickened him. And they couldn't start a war for every child dead, they were simply outnumbered and Dwayne liked his head right where it was, thank you very much! When they reached the driveway he let her go, eyes hardly even blinking as they made their way to the door. He apparently had much more to worry about than dealing with the unsafe nights of his seaside home. She let him in, kissing him on the cheek which the boy wiped off dramaticly and loudly before dissapearing into the house and leaving her to rejoin, and he knew he was in trouble again when he realized just how relieved he was when he could put his arm back where it was without her running away.

He couldn't explain it, it just felt like that is where she should be, close to him, and his arm belonged around that tiny waist. It felt like he had known her a lot longer than a handful of nights. This time his brother simply took her arm on the other side. "He and his brothers are lovers of contact." she loudly observed looking between the both of them. Paul, not being able to help himself, gave her a suggestive wink that ended up getting him a slap to the back of the head from Sarin, making Dwayne smirk like a hyhena. "You'll have to forgive us, but we are rather fond of you, Little One. We like you in one piece, as you are." he confided. When his brother nodded his agreement, he knew that it would not be long before the rest of the coven adopted her outright. "She watches for herself. No power in the 'verse can stop me." she had on her face a strange, nostalgic look as she said the last words, with a sideways and broken smile. Then he caught an image, two women running, a slightly younger Sarin giggling madly, running through that strange vessel with a petite dirty blonde woman in her 20's on her heels. In her hands there was a cloth she was running with, and running out of places to run, the older woman finally cornored her and tackled her onto a couch where she proceeded to tickle the girl till she gave up her prize, those very same words said in teasing triumph. But then it shifted. There were four hunters, carrying 42's, cornering a group of people, only the older woman and Sarin free, hiding behind some covering. When the older woman couldn't shoot, Sarin took the gun.

She stepped out, causing the surprised shriek of everyone aboard. But her eyes were tightly closed, and without even looking once, she took four shots, getting each and every one of the unwelcome guests dead on. An older man with dark hair took the gun from her while Sarin shot the older woman a sly look and a smile, repeating those words back to her. He was beginning to understand of just what she was capeable of, why she called herself a monster, why she didn't see herself as a girl, or as a woman. She had been made into the perfect assassin, and who knew what her own body count might be, he was not sure even she truly knew. There was so much missing even from her. So much had been stolen. No one deserved her vengeance more than she did! "That's right, nothing and no one can stop you, always remember that, remember it when you start to doubt what you are capeable of." he commented, referring to their silent conversation from earlier. "Is there something I am missing here that I should know about?" Paul asked. "Not yet, but soon." he answered back before Sarin could. She gave him a slight glare to which he simply shrugged. If she wanted her revenge, she needed to start talking. It was the only chance she had of getting all the bastards who were looking for her, the only chance she had of remaining free and out from under their control, away from that soft voiced bastard. At least away long enough to come up with the proper plan to take his sorry ass out! Oh no, no way in hell did that one get away alive, not after what he had seen! "You suck Dwayne, you know that?" his brother remarked.

"The girl does not want to know…" she wore a teasing grin, her first attempt at a joke, her eyes a bit hopeful for a good reaction. So he slipped the other arm around, put her into a head hold, preparing for giving a noogie when she used momentum and his height against him, ducking down with all her strength, causing him to drop her, she then plunged herself backward and causing him to start to fall, but he caught himself before he could hit the ground. However she was just as shockingly fast, opting for the distraction, gracefully bending back, her back leg reaching up like a ballet dancer and hitting him in the head with surprising force before grabbing him and twisting him over her small back. She wore a rather jubliant smile, knowing that this would be her one free shot.

Knowing he was to mesmorized to react like he would have otherwise. Instead he grabbed her and pulled her back, spinning and dipping the girl low, making her giggle before doing a high kick over her head and spinning, skirts swirling around her and shimmering slightly in the light, the first time he saw the crystals sewn in to the hymn. They moved as they walked, with a very amused Paul just grinning and shaking his head as they made their way to the hikeing trail that led to the Cave. He lifted her up and twirled her, not even shocking her with the enhanced speed. She was shocked by how he handled her, rolled with her. That he wasn't afraid of her, that he pulled close instead of running away. "_You are not what they told you. You are not crazy. It was they who never took the time to try. But its different here. You CAN trust us! Nothing you can say or do will ever cause us to abandon you." _he told her. She nodded, knowingly. It could be that she knew something, could see things that he could not. Do more than simply see into minds, perhaps she saw things, making her first cryptic warning make more disturbing sense. Perhaps she was telling him that she had seen something, what would happen if they made Michael half. Something that made her afraid for him. When they got close they both began to tell her that she would have to drop down. And she was so different from Michael. She bore no fear, no screams when he dropped down, holding onto the pipes. "Drop down and she'll show you a trick." she simply remarked, causing his brother to laugh, accompanied with the voices of Marko and David encouraging her.

"Come on down Sarin, we've been rather anxious to make your aquaintance." he heard the sound of David's interested tone eco off the cave walls. Marko was right there, wanting to see this, how different she was, to see if he could see what he had told them. He swore he could feel her smirk! And his stomach about dropped out when she dropped, not even bothering to grab on to the pipe. He moved in, ready to catch her if he had to. Her body tucked under and she flipped three times before landing in a graceful crouch, not even a scratch on her from the landing! "Open jaws attract insects." she quipped still smirking. He heard clapping as Paul dropped un noticed. "Well, well, that was unexpected! Well done! Welcome to our humble abode, Sarin Emerson, we've heard a lot about you." his leader moved forward, taking her hand and instead of shaking it, he did the same thing he had the night they met Star, laying the gentleman's kiss on it. She in turn knew how to properly respond, with a slight bow of respect, surprising his leader. It was the first real smile he had seen on David in a long while. Please, join us my lady." he said, beginning to lead the way. Dwayne smiled to himself. He knew that they would all be wrapped around her finger, that they would see in her both themselves and how unique she was. Unlike Michael, she did, she truly did, she belonged here, she belonged with them, belonged to the Black. He moved behind her, getting the first surprised squeek out of her when he grabbed from behind accompanied by laughter. He wanted her next to him tonight, to keep an eye on the others.

They lit the barrels, and she extended her hands above her head, arms reaching up, and spun around them with that uncanny grace, to music only she could hear. "Take my love, take my land, take me where I can not stand." her voice was soft and sweet, something that had not ever graced the halls of their make shift home. He caught a glimpse of Marko wearing a look of wonder, thinking he didn't look on a human being, but a fae creature he once read about when he had been a child. "I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me. Take me out into the Black, tell them I'm not coming back." uttered as though it were a prophecy, like she knew what they were all thinking, what was coming for her. Her eyes were shut but she moved around the room with such skill it was like she had always been there and knew every crook and cranny. "Burn the land and boil the sea. You can't take the sky from me." and suddenly it felt like this song meant more to the one who sang it. It wasn't just a song. It was something about from where she truly came, and all else was abandoned but hearing every word that came from her mouth. "There's no place that I can be sense I found Serenity." she choked the last word, her lower lip trembled slightly, he felt the sharp pain in his heart as though it was his own, David shooting him a sharp look before it turned into a more knowing smirk. It angered him, his leader obviously knew something now that he didn't and it irked him. All the more so that he would keep it from him till Sarin was returned back home to the one fun and the other broody brother.

"But you can't take the sky from me…" she hummed a short little solo before stopping, dark eyes opening and looking back at him, and he got sucked in again, to where she was the only one in the room that mattered. "_Tame lions can still bite Little One. Please come sit with me."_ he knew it was protective and slightly paranoid but with her he couldn't seem to help himself. She gave him a half smile, still filled with sadness. She skipped back to him and he led her to the couch, reaching out, pulling her as close as he dared and lacing his fingers around hers and pulling her hand into his lap. The display of music gave Paul an idea, and he sped over to the rock box and looked for something so different he about fell over in shock! Jazz floating up through the walls, a tune by the late and great Lady Day. "This day and age we're living in gives cause for apprehension with speed and new invention and things like fourth dimension. Yet we get a trifle weary with Mr. Einstien's theory so we must get down to earth at times. Relax, relieve the tension." and even this song she knew, word for word! A huge smile spread across her face and she got up, and Paul bound up to her mirrioring her expression. "Dance with me this time Little One?" his face looked so hopeful that Dwayne couldn't help but encourage it silently. His brother wanted her with them too, he could tell already, like she was the sister he never got to meet. She eagerly took his hand when he pulled her close and when the two moved, not a sound was heard but the sound of Sarin's and Billie's voices.

"The simple facts of life are such they cannot be removed. You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundlemental things apply, as time goes by." he spun her, letting her go a moment as her legs rose, perfect pirouettes in the circles she spun, her long hair trailing down, and he couldn't breathe, or think. He didn't even notice David had left his 'throne' till his voice was right next to him! "Now I understand perfectly, but I wonder if you do." Dwayne relunctantly turned from the sight and raised an eyebrow at him. "She's lovely, and strong, there is already blood on her hands. You want her for this coven, do you not?" he asked. He knew there was more to it, but knew his leader better than anyone else. He wasn't going to reveal this to him, he wanted him to figure it out for himself. "She already is. She knows what we are David, she knew the moment she saw us. She knows because she is not like others. Tonight, she has telepathy David! She can hear us, as we can hear her. She could block us if she wished, but she doesn't. Do you remember the night we met them? She called herself the same! It should be her! Give her the choice. She knows what is in that bottle. Let her decide." he knew what he was asking, but something inside him drove him on. Telling him that this course was right, that it was meant to be. The plantinum haired leader nodded. "I intended to, as soon as I saw that entrance. It made it clear to me that she was more than her brother. More than the others. She was made for this life." and it was true. She had been groomed for this life like no other before her!

" And when two lovers woo, they still say "I love you" on that you can rely. No matter what the future brings as time goes by." he felt himself rise before he even knew what he was doing, walking towards the smiling dancing pair. He just knew he wanted those hands in his again, to feel her spin away and against him, to be apart of that beauty that she exuded. He tapped Paul on the shoulder. "I'm sorry man but can I cut in?" he asked. The blonde gave him a bright smile before answering. "She's all yours dude!" before setting her in a spin towards him and gracefully bowing out. It made him smile, remembering that the man his brother had been before was different than the role he played now. He had been a gentleman once, and apparently that side of himself had not entirely died. It made him glad. Sarin seemed to have a way about her that made them all remember who they really were. The grin she shot him made his blood run ice, made him stare. He had never seen anyone or anything so lovely. Beautiful, she was beautiful, there was no other word for her in that moment! He spun her close, enjoying her heat before dipping her down again, staring deeply down into those dark chocolate eyes, reading all the pain, all the anger, and all the kindness, loyalty, strength! How anyone could look into those eyes and not drown was beyond him! "Moonlight and love songs never out of date hearts full of passion, jealously, and hate." she gazed right back, singing as though directly to him and him alone.

He pulled her up and let her lead a moment, taking a few spins himself, making him laugh out loud. It didn't matter how short it had been, she understood him, deep down where no one else dared to look or to reach, and he knew her. And he would never fail her, would dare what no one else would. To go with her down that rabbit hole, never to leave or step aside. His best friend, that is what she was. And that realization, his friend, his family, he grinned like a banshee to have it returned, for once without walls or hiding. "Woman needs man and man must have his mate. That no one can deny." he happened to look up to see David's knowing smile that he was sure was going to make him crazy! Did the man really have to rub it in that he knew something he did not?! He pulled her in close. "_She knows, and you know her choice."_ and he pulled her all the closer. He did know. "_Are you sure Sarin?"_ he asked. She gave him that same bright smile. "_The girl is no different. Only now… she finally belongs!"_ there was bitterness there, but there was something else. Satisfaction, a happiness, a sense of family and of home. Things she hadn't felt in so very long. He molded against her, feeling the beat of her heart against his chest. It was steady and sure, she was not afraid, not unsure. Something in him lept up, in jubilation, he didn't understand but he did know he wanted her there, he wanted her with him, close to him, where he could keep her safe from the hands that sought after her to stain her and break her one more time. And this would give her the edge, that extra power that would put her over the top. Would make her untouchable. And it would stop the plan for the Emerson family in it's tracks.

"It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory. A case of do or die. The world will always welcome lovers as time goes by." the song finished, and she did a deep bow to him before they went back to the couch. "He was not kidding about that grace!" with a knowing glance thrown between all the brothers David fetched from out of his stock and grabbed the bejewled bottle. "I know that you know what we are, Sarin. You know what is in this bottle. The question is, when it is passed to you, will you still drink, and take your place among us?" he asked with an interested tone. She fixed him with a gaze flashing in light. "Answer be shown by action, for actions speak louder than words. Pass round the bottle, if he wishes to know the answer to his question." she answered, making Paul snort, Marko to look on her with wonder, and for Dwayne to simply smile at her knowingly. Paul now the closest took a rather large swig before passing it to Marko. He took a large sniff before taking a lingering taste before passing it to him. Dwayne took his quickly before handing it to her. She didn't even glance around the room. Tightening her hold on his arm, she used her other hand to take down a large gulp, to which she was answered with large hoots, and all of them chanting her name. And the minute she swallowed his connection to her was magnified a thousand fold! She handed him back the bottle before shooting a cocky grin back to David. "Is the answer satisfactory?" she asked. David walked to her and kissed her cheek. "Welcome home, Sarin. We are your family now, to us you can trust all your secrets. And any and all of us will do anything to make sure you are safe. But first, you must be willing to be open." he said, surprising Dwayne.


End file.
